MattG1

Hello Fodorites, My wife and I in our mid 30s have booked a 6 night trip to Costa Rica. We fly into SJO late January and are interested in splitting our trip between Arenal and a beach location for surfing, possibly Mal Pais/Santa Theresa. Have not booked any accomodations yet, my question is with just 6 nights how many nights should we spend in Arenal and is there a better/closer alternative to Mal Pais for surfing? We chose this area for surfing based on many reviews on this site. Also what would be the best mode of transportation? We want to maximize our time at our destinations and not travelling between them. so Im considering renting a car and driving to Arenal, then flying to Tambor to get to Mal Pais, and depart by flying back to SJO. All suggestions welcome.

volcanogirl

I would spend 3 days in Arenal; we usually stay for 4, but your trip won't really allow you to do that. There's so much to do here - the volcano, the natural hot springs, the waterfall, the Hanging Bridges, the Cano Negro tour with Sunset Tours to see wildlife, ziplines at Sky Trek, etc. Do you need to spend first or last nights near the airport due to your flight times. You don't want to drive at night in CR.

MattG1

Good input, we are purely beginner surfers looking to take some lessons, can you provide some pros/cons for Jaco area vs Mal Pais? Heard mixed reviews on Jaco and leaned towards Mal Pais. Any recommnedations for lodging around Playa Hermosa?

MattG1

We arrive at 2:30pm and would likely rent a car to go to Arenal, our flight departs at 3:30pm and depending upon where we are this should leave us enough time to travel to airport.

volcanogirl

Jaco has a rep for being a little bit seedy so check around a bit - I haven't stayed there personally, but just from what I've read on the board. Hopefully others can give you more details.